Turkey has been rocked by six nights of protests over the imprisonment of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, a major rival of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan whose detention is widely viewed as politically motivated.
More than 1,100 people were detained, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said Monday, adding that dozens of police officers were injured and dangerous materials, including acid, firebombs and knives had been seized at demonstrations across the country.
NBC News looks at what the protests might mean for Turkey, an important U.S. ally, as fears grow about the state of its democracy and the rule of law.
How the protests began
Demonstrators first took to the streets shortly after Imamoglu was detained at his home in Istanbul on Wednesday. In a social media video that he said he filmed while police were outside his home, Imamoglu said he would “stand resolute” for the people of Turkey “and all who uphold democracy and justice worldwide.”
Since then, protests have taken place in Istanbul, Ankara, the capital, and the western city of Izmir, as well as smaller cities and towns across Turkey.
They continued after an Istanbul court formally arrested Imamoglu on Sunday and ordered him jailed pending a trial on corruption charges. The prosecutor’s office told The Associated Press that Imamoglu was being held on suspicion of running a criminal organization, as well as of accepting bribes, extortion and illegally recording personal data and bid-rigging. A request that he also be imprisoned on terror-related charges was rejected, though he still faces prosecution, The AP reported.
Since Imamoglu was detained, several statements and videos of the protests have been posted on an X account belonging to him, praising those taking part but also calling for them to be peaceful. The posts continued after he was taken to Marmara Prison, also known as Silivri.
While the protests have largely gone off without incident, some have turned violent, with demonstrators throwing stones, fireworks and other objects at riot police and officers deploying water cannons, tear gas and pepper spray.
Erdoğan condemned the demonstrations, which went on despite a ban, as a “movement of violence” in a news conference Monday, according to Reuters.
Fears for democracy
Imamoglu’s formal arrest came as members of his Republican People’s Party, or CHP, started holding a primary presidential election to endorse his run against Erdoğan, the AP reported.
While another election is not due in the country until 2028, it is possible that Erdoğan could call an early vote, although recent polls have shown Imamoglu polling well against Erdoğan, who served as prime minister from 2003 until he was elected president in 2014.
Imamoglu’s triumph in Istanbul’s mayoral election in March 2019 was a major blow to Erdoğan and his Justice and Development Party, which had controlled Turkey’s largest city alongside its predecessors for a quarter-century.
He won a second five-year term in last year’s mayoral election with more than 50% of the vote.
His jailing comes amid a monthslong crackdown on political opposition figures, 47 of whom have been jailed pending trial, including one of his key aides and two district mayors from Istanbul, according to the AP. A further 44 suspects in the case alleging widespread graft at Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality were released under judicial control.
“There’s a selective implementation of the law,” Güney Yıldız, a visiting fellow at the London School of Economics’ European Institute, said in a telephone interview Tuesday. “If you apply the rule of law selectively, being against the opposition, but not your own people, then it’s breaking down the rule of law.”
The Disk-Basin-Is, a media workers’ union, also said in a post on X on Monday that at least 11 journalists and photojournalists had been detained within the span of 24 hours.
CHP Chairman Özgür Özel has said the demonstrations will end Tuesday, but it is unclear whether the protesters will heed his call.
Turkey straddles Asia and Europe and shares land borders with eight countries, including Iran, Iraq and Syria. Situated across the Black Sea from Russia and Ukraine, it has long been considered a key NATO ally and security partner for the United States.
For Gönül Tol, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, a Washington-based think tank, the crackdown is “a turning point in Turkish politics.”
“By arresting his top rival, Erdoğan is taking a huge step toward transforming Turkey into a Russian-style autocracy where the president handpicks his opponent and elections are just for show,” she said in a telephone interview Tuesday.
“We’re not there yet, but this a huge step toward that goal.”
